So here’s a little background on the premise for King Rat: it takes place in a Japanese POW camp situated in Singapore (WWII). This POW camp is the most populous of all the Japanese camps and contains prisoners from the US, UK, other parts of Europe.

The Rat King has two alpha males, one’s an American who’s taken to breeding rats whose meat he trades to fellow prisoners (hence why he’s King Rat).

The other is a Brit who follows rules like his life depends on it, because he’s the camp provost. Actually, the POW camp is actually good for the Brit, because he has a degree of status there, whereas back home in Britain, he’s an unaccomplished nobody.

These two alpha males don’t get along very well at all, with the Brit always looking for ways to screw the American.

In this reality, Quebec is the POW camp.

PFK the American.

Drainville the Brit (Hey, he loves Churchill!).

I don’t care what kind of smile PFK & Bernie plaster onto their faces when posing for cameras together. Anyone with even an acute ability to read between the lines can pick up on the palpable loathing they have for each other.

Either way, in ceding his dream of becoming the PQ’s Don to PFK, Bernie has cemented a degree of future rule over the party.

How so?

Well, most Canadians have gotten very accustomed to seeing interim leaders as little more than seat-warmers until the new “real leader” takes the reigns.

The reality is that an interim leader CAN be ratified into the permanent leader of the party.

Bernie knows this.

In order for this to happen, you’d require a party convention to approve it.

Bernie knows this too.

In order to get approval, you only have to make sure you get the right people on your side.

Yup, you guessed it – Bernie knows this.

Let’s take a look at the hard facts about the Parti Quebecois – they are a hard-scrabble group of men and women who will not hesitate in the least to stab each other in the back.

The PQ is well known for unceremoniously dumping its leaders after defeat. Pauline Marois has lodged a few knives in the backs of former colleagues much and that’s why she bailed before the jackals had the chance to stick their knives in her back.

Once PFK fails in his bid to lead Quebec (and believe me, he will), the PQ faithful will again start craving the familiar taste of blood and cast PFK out of their sect.

By that point, not only will Bernie be the interim leader, he’ll have four years of backroom seeding to cultivate.

Literal Phantom Cabinet

I’ve already made my predictions about PQ ministers bailing from the ship and now that the phantom cabinet has been announced, I think those bodies will be jumping ship.

While many believe that Stéphane Bédard will be leaving after being relieved of his role as leader, I think he’ll be around for as long as the electorate keeps voting him in.

Jean-François Lisée still tops my list. The only reason he wasn’t shit-canned was to maintain appearances.

Martine Ouellet will certainly butt heads with PFK. This is just plain inevitable. I don’t know when she’ll bail, after all, she stayed in the leadership race despite having no chance of winning, but count on her either sitting as an independent or quitting politics altogether. No, she will not go to QS. I see the same outcome for Véronique Hivon.

I seriously François Gendron will run again as he’s almost 71 now and certainly in line for a posh retirement.

You can also kiss Hochelaga MAN Carole Poirier goodbye. In 2014, Quebec Solidaire missed her by only 4%.

What this means for the PQ’s Rat King:

A party that is losing more and more sitting members with each passing election

A party that continues to decline in the polls with each passing year

By the time Bernie finally accomplish his goal of becoming the PQ’s commander, he’ll be leading little more than shell of party which will likely be little more than 2nd opposition come 2018…but at least he’ll be king!

Bonus Round:

Found this comment from a separatist who voted “Yes” in 1995 and what turned him away from the movement once and for all:

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One thought on “Quebec’s Provost Emerges”

Wow, that rant you quote crystallizes exactly how I feel about Drainville. Do you have a link?

Prior to the Charter, I was pretty neutral toward the PQ – I wouldn’t vote for them, but I respected them as a viable political action. Now… I’d be happy to see them laid to waste, especially with Drainville as their prospective captain.